A Gmail Account Does Not A Business Make

We all want to get to that elusive point, the point where our business starts to take off. Where people vie for our services and products. The point where we can say our business is successful. But, like all things, we have to start somewhere. In business, however, where how you start is just as important as how you end.

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you. You’re at a trade show and the client you’ve been dying to land is actually here and you can talk directly to the decision maker. After giving your pitch he’s very interested. You give him your newly printed business cards, he looks at them, then at you and says, “Can I email you at this gmail address?” and you say, “Yes”. You walk away happy that you just had a potential customer. Unbeknownst to you, as he’s walking away he’s thinking, “Based on what I just seen on this card, I don’t think this guy can take care of what my business needs.” Why garner such a response? It could be to a number of reasons, but the reason that seals your fate is due to one of two things: 1. you have no website or 2. your email address is not specific to your business name.

It might be hard to believe, but your email address sends just as strong an impression as your pitch, your logo, your rates and anything else your business does. You could have the most expensive piece of machinery that makes you competitive in the marketplace, but if that is followed with a Gmail, Hotmail, Verizon, Comcast, Yahoo, AOL or any other public email service you’re going to the get the same impression every time, “Small Fries.”

Many start their businesses thinking that since they can’t afford a website right now they can’t get the email address associated with that site. Subsequently, they use what they know, the free accounts, but those accounts are not for business. In fact, they are slowly killing your business. Very few people want to take chances on vendors that can adversely affect their company. Owners want to work with well established, experienced businesses. You might say to yourself, “Yeah I know I can do it, I just need a chance.” But tell me this, when you had to get electrical work on your house did you call the one with an Apprentice license or the Master Electrician?

Nonetheless, getting businesses to use your services is not that difficult if you have the right tools, but you’re hurting yourself seriously if you don’t have an email address that’s directly associated with your business. I’m talking “john@” not “john455sexyman@”. There are plenty of providers who can give you business email accounts with your own URL for extremely low prices. It requires a few steps, perhaps $30 max and presto, you have a business email address you can use to promote your business. While you might be starting off, your new email address says, “I’m here to stay.”